GM assures Warren on chemical spill

By
Mitch Hotts, The Macomb Daily

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Warren Mayor James Fouts on Thursday met with officials from the GM Tech Center to discuss a chemical spill in the Bear Creek Drain that runs through the center’s property and why it took an hour to notify the fire department.

Approximately 10,000 diluted gallons of propylene glycol — a chemical used in antifreeze and de-icing solutions — entered the storm water system and the creek during a spill Nov. 13, city officials said in a statement. GM did not contact the city’s fire department until one hour after the spill, a violation of the carmaker’s protocol.

GM told Warren officials the containment was immediately addressed and the spill presented no danger to the public or wildlife.

“I was glad we had this meeting because we were able to iron out some potential communication problems if the substance had been harmful to people or the environment,” Fouts said.

GM officials could not be reached for comment.

According to Warren officials, GM hired a crew to perform site preparation work for a renovation project that used ground-penetrating radar to locate underground utilities. But the radar missed one pipe while soil was being removed and a backhoe struck a 6-inch line that carried the chemical.

“GM is making a transition as they have a lot of work going on at the older campus,” said Warren Fire Commissioner Wilburt “Skip” McAdams. “Given their renewed liability and expanding as they move to the future, sometimes things happen like hitting a forgotten pipeline.”

Propylene glycol is a clear, syrupy liquid used to absorb extra water and maintain moisture in certain medicines, cosmetics and food products. It is regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which indicates it does not represent a public health threat in small doses but has been proven to cause kidney damage to some species.

After GM notified the fire department, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and GM’s environmental engineers reviewed the site and clean-up procedures.

According to Warren’s news release, the MDEQ took water samples from Bear Creek and subsequent waterways running down to Lake St. Clair. Preliminary results found no decrease in dissolved oxygen and no evidence of a fish kill.

GM’s failure to follow notification protocol for a hazardous materials incident was addressed at Thursday’s meeting.

“We’re going to work more closely with the contractor and their personnel in coordinating future communication,” McAdams said. “They’re going to be doing a lot of work there so we want to make sure everyone is on the same page.”